God Shed His Grace on Thee

By Jim Fletcher

America is about to find out what it feels like to be a Babylonian or a Roman. Or the Invisible Man.

Hillary Clinton has announced that the U.S. will aggressively pursue the establishment of a Palestinian state. There are clear indications that Obama has stacked his team with anti-Israel operatives. This is Jimmy Carter’s long hoped-for second term.

With Bibi Netanyahu ready to assume the leadership of the Jewish state, we are hearing plenty of talk of a “clash” between the Israelis and the Americans. All I can say is, God help America.

Remember the expulsion of Jews from Gaza in 2005? Soldiers had to forcibly remove some of the 8,000 citizens of the Jewish state from their homes. Now imagine the same scene magnified in the removal of 300,000 people from the heartland of Israel, what the Bible calls the Mountains of Israel, and the world calls the “West Bank.”

(Here, let me recommend a terrific new book by Terry James: The American Apocalypse. It’s quite good, and a fascinating read for those of us interested in the subject of the U.S. in the last days.)

I am reminded of the title of this Israel Watch [...title of this article: God Shed His Grace on Thee], because you’ll notice “shed” is in the past tense. I think that reflects where we’re at as a nation, with regard to divine protection. America for centuries now has supported the Jewish people as no other nation ever has, and certainly no superpower has come close to our benevolence to the Jews.

That is officially about to change, and those of you who say Maranatha! to each other have a new sense of urgency and expectancy.

Netanyahu is scrambling to put together a ruling coalition in Israel (their government operates a bit different than ours, in the sense that people tend to vote for parties, and thus leaders must work closer with leaders of other parties in order to govern effectively). Ariel Sharon is the only Israeli prime minister recently who succeeded in this, only because he came in as a hawk on defense, but was willing to abandon many of his older principles in moving toward a Palestinian state. Netanyahu’s job is tougher because he isn’t as inclined to want to please the Americans.

And now the Americans are willing to talk not only to the Iranians, but we are also sending a delegation to Syria! How do Islamists receive this? By becoming more aggressive and belligerent.

Since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced in January, 93 rockets and mortars have landed in Israel, from Gaza. The world does not care. Hamas continues to call for the destruction of Israel, a sovereign nation.

This past weekend, NPR decided to air a segment on alleged sexual harassment of youth by some in the New York Hassidic community. The piece went on and on, portraying Jews in a very negative light. In my view, this is a clear sign of the return (did it ever leave?) of classic anti-Semitism. It’s as if people are watching a pack of wolves (Muslim terrorists) slaughter innocents, and the focus is on the refusal of the innocents to just shut up and die.

Don’t hold your breathe waiting for NPR to air informative segments about the barbarism of Hamas.

In the past, U.S. presidents such as John Adams and as late as Lyndon Johnson let their sympathies be known with regard to the Jews. Now we have a different reality, in which a young American president who smiles as he mocks the Bible in speeches tips his hand that Israel will get no more free passes. If the Jewish state wants to stand in the way of mankind’s progress toward Utopia, then there will be consequences.

Now we have Israel’s current Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, saying that Hillary Clinton has a “deep understanding” of Israel’s needs.

This is misleading.

Of course, Clinton has deep understanding of the situation; she’s smart and informed.

But a technical understanding does not translate into a willingness to support Israel. Clinton, like other Leftists, is cunning and pragmatic. That is, she analyzes a situation and looks for the thing that will benefit her or her policies. If that means, in this case, selling-out Israel, so be it. It will be done. Livni is, unfortunately, one of those Israeli politicians who has forgotten Zionism and has embraced a need to be liked by her enemies.

Here is a fundamental truth in our world today: international leaders know very well that Israel’s presence in the Middle East does not promote violence. They understand very well that Arab sensibilities — what I call the Ishmael Syndrome — are the driving force behind the evil in that part of the world, which of course spills over all the world (remember Zechariah?).

But the delusion continues. It is easier to pander to the Arabs than to deal with them realistically. The fundamental human condition is self-preservation. It just so happens that the Jews are a minority in the world today. The Arabs are great in number, and they are bellicose. The math is simple for American and international diplomats.

Although we are labeled crackpots for saying so, the Divine Hand that has protected us all these years is leaving only its shadow now. America is officially moving away from Israel. Yet I am not despondent. I believe that God controls history, and these things must be.

I look back fondly on the America I knew as a boy. I reflect on the men who founded our country, such as George Washington. A visit to his home at Mount Vernon reveals a man who believed in the God of the Bible.

We’ve come a very long way since then.

Related Links